Lawyer fined Rs 25,000 for not turning up in court

The incident dates back to July 6 when advocate Chander Takshak called up Justice Mahesh Grover around 12.30 at night and requested him to appoint a warrant officer to accompany him to Batala the next morning to get a man,Jora Singh,released from alleged illegal custody of the Punjab Police in Batala.

Though the judge asked the lawyer to adopt the proper channel or approach some official of the HC Registry.

Takshak called again at 5.30 am and insisted that the petition in the case be taken up for hearing the same day. Justice Grover then called up his private secretary and appointed a warrant officer at 6 am.

“Since it concerned the life and liberty of an individual,the Court was handicapped and had to intervene (and appoint a warrant officer),” the judge said.

But the next morning the lawyer and the petitioner,Surjit Singh,did not turn up till noon . When the warrant officer contacted the lawyer and asked when they were to leave for Batala,he was told that there was no need to go since Jora Singh had been produced before a magistrate in Batala.

The warrant officer,later in his report,submitted that Jora Singh was arrested by the police in a criminal case wherein he had attacked some youths on June 25. Holding the report of the warrant officer to be correct,the judge slapped the penalty on the lawyer.

Strongly disapproving of the conduct of the lawyer,Justice Grover remarked,”What has aroused the concern of the Court is the manner in which the petition has been filed with false allegations and also the manner in which the Court was approached in the dead of night and then in the wee hours of the morning. The counsel for the petitioner has shown utter disregard for the Court and its proceedings….He has chosen not to appear at all,but was hyper-active when the petition was to be filed…”

“Such behaviour by a counsel of Court is unprecedented and reveals the mindset which does not behove of an advocate… it is insolent and disdainful”,the judge said,adding,”An advocate has no business to contact a Judge directly and had it not been a matter of concern of life and liberty of an individual,I would not have responded. Rather,the counsel has totally abdicated his duty…which warrants an appropriate action against him”. The penalty has to be paid into the Lawyers’ Welfare Fund.